To Give him Room
by daddyooo
Summary: The war is over, and the kids are back at Hogwarts to complete their education. Unlikely friendships are forged in this post-war calm, and the oddest one is between Draco and Harry, who become inseparable. But one of them wishes they were more than just friends. One-sided Drarry. Mostly canon couples. Fluff. Occasional smut.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I really, really wish I owned Harry Potter.

Chapter 1

Tonight they sat in the Room of Requirement, drunk with both happiness and cheap muggle booze.

It was dark, and Harry had taken off his glasses a while ago. The only thing he could see at the moment was the glow of Draco's hair, next to him, as they sat with their backs against the door growing increasingly woozy. In front of them, the room stretched out, empty and colorful. What they'd asked for was a space in which they could throw a party, and so the Room had painted itself in lovely cosmic colors that seemed to drip and change with every glance- or maybe that was the alcohol taking effect. Nonetheless, it was beautiful. Harry was bathed in color.

It was supposed to have been a party for quite a large group of people, but no one had shown up save these two. It was because there was a potions quiz tomorrow. Harry and Draco were the only two who didn't feel the need to study. And Hermione could've gone without, too, but she was Hermione, after all.

Harry sighed. What was more important than celebrating the reconstruction of the Room? It'd taken them all year. Well- it'd taken Harry and Draco and Luna all year.

The memory of that first day returned to him, painfully bright and choppy.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_It'd been a week since they'd arrived at school. There were double the amount of first-years at Hogwarts this year, because McGonagall had deemed the previous schoolyear, the year of the Battle of Hogwarts, insufficient. Besides, the only thing the students had learnt that year had been curses and ways to survive the tyranny of the Carrows. _

_All the first years were making Harry nauseous. They stole his things and sold them behind the Quidditch Stands. There was a Harry Potter black market in session, and it was beginning to irritate him and his friends, who were also victimized by this new trade. _

_So now, past curfew, Harry stood with his bags packed, Ron at his side, facing the Room of Requirement, begging it to open up. But the empty wall faced them, obstinate, and Harry tried to stomach the overpowering guilt that raged within him._

"_All that stuff- burned- just like that," said Ron."Let's go, Harry. This feels worse than when my mum found out I used her favorite Tupperware for my Charms project fifth year."_

"_There's got to be something we could do," said Harry. And it wasn't just because he needed somewhere to hide from the first years. No, it was his fault the Room of Requirement was gone- he had to fix it somehow. The memory of the raging fiendfyre still haunted him sometimes._

"_We'll think about it tomorrow. Let's go back before we get caught."_

_Right then, a squeak sounded behind them, and the two turned, wands out . "Who's there?" called Harry._

_Draco emerged from behind a statue and pulled off the hood of his cloak. "What're you two doing here?"_

"_None of your damn business," said Ron. "What are _you_ doing here?"_

"_Escaping," said Draco bluntly, and Harry's glare softened._

_Ever since the start of the term, Draco had been friendless and alone. Both of his parents were in Azkaban; his father had a life sentence, and his mother had five years. Hers, too, had been a life sentence originally, but Harry had convinced the Ministry to cut her some slack. She had, after all, lied to Voldemort's face and saved Harry._

"_It won't open," said Harry. "Not after that Fiendfyre."_

"_You're kidding," said Draco. He advanced now, his wand also out. "Do you know how much-" He stopped. "I'll figure something out."_

"_Be my guest," said Ron. "You know, 'cuz it's so easy to rebuild magical rooms that are uncharted, and only appear when you ask them nicely." He scoffed. "Harry and I are going to sleep."_

_But as Ron turned to go, Harry met Draco's eye. "I'll help you," he said._

"_What?" said Ron._

"_As if _you'd_ be of any help," spat Draco, but the venom in his voice did not reach his eyes. Things had definitely changed between the trio and him._

"_Hermione will help," said Harry. "You know how clever she is."_

"_Well I won't help," said Ron. "Because it's impossible." But he too stepped closer, and there was keen interest in his eyes._

"_It's not impossible," said Harry, looking to the wall. "It can't be."_

_And thus, a tentative alliance formed between Draco and the trio. _

_Of the three of them, Hermione had had the most trouble being civil towards Draco. She was uncharacteristically mean to him- she bullied him, quite a lot. Harry hadn't really expected it. He'd imagined that Ron would be the harsh one- and he had been, at the start- but once Hermione began tormenting the poor blonde Ron softened up._

_But it was Harry who'd grown the closest to Malfoy, and it only took around a month. Between classes and Quidditch practice, they spent so much time together, coming up with ideas and researching and experimenting- so much time, that there was no room for them to continue being arch enemies. So much time, that they couldn't help but discover how much they had in common. He even eventually got into a fight with Hermione, after having yelled at her for being such a bitch towards his new friend. And she'd yelled back, infuriated that he should side with Draco. _

"_You've replaced me," said Ron, the day of the fight, just as Harry had been about to fall asleep. Ron had vowed not to take sides, earning him a silent treatment from his seething girlfriend._

"_What?" mumbled Harry in response._

"_I'm only joking," said Ron. "Or maybe not."_

"_Ron, I'm tired," said Harry. Tired, angry, upset- fights with Hermione were extremely uncommon. "Go to sleep."_

"_If I asked you who was your best friend, I bet you'd say-"_

"_Hermione." The name slipped out of his mouth, since he'd been thinking about her anyways. "Wait-" Harry stood from his bed, awake now, walked to Ron' bed, and pulled the curtain aside. "Don't tell her I said that."_

_Of course, the next morning, Ron told Hermione, and after lunch she burst into tears and hugged Harry and the two skipped Defense Against the Dark Arts in favor of a clandestine trip to Hogsmeade. She promised to be nicer to Draco, and Harry told her he understood why she was being so harsh. They drank butterbeer together and had a good time. And Harry was so thankful she didn't make him choose._

_Because, you see, it'd come to the point where Harry and Draco were inseparable, and since Ron and Hermione were a couple now, the two old enemies spent a lot of time together. Ron and Hermione weren't obnoxious like Ron and Lavender had been, but Harry, socially awkward as he was, always felt as if he was intruding on their private time._

_And he was single now, anyways- in the beginning of the year, Harry had found out that Ginny had been cheating on him while he'd been away from school. With Neville. The worst part was that he hadn't even upset._

_And then there was Luna Lovegood. Luna, who proved somehow even more brilliant than Hermione in terms of creativity. Luna, who quickened the pace of the project incredibly. She's stumbled in on Draco and Harry planning one day in the library, and though at first the two were hesitant to let her in on it, it didn't take long for them to realize how essential she was to its success._

"_Hello, Harry," she'd said from behind Harry, causing him to jump. He'd been wandering around in his mind for a while, and the sudden sound had thrown him off guard. "Hello, Draco."_

_She smiled her dreamy smile at them, and Harry smiled back. "Hello, Luna," he and Draco chimed._

"_I noticed you two poking around the restricted section, and I thought I might help you out."_

"_You have? How?" asked Harry. It was true; he and Draco had used the invisibility cloak last night to dig around._

"_I have unlimited access to the restricted section, courtesy of Madam Pince. So, the Room of Requirement?"_

"_We're trying to rebuild it," said Draco._

"_How?"_

"_We're mainly just researching Hogwarts right now. Haven't gotten anywhere, really."_

"_Have you tried asking nicely?" said Luna._

"_Asking who?" _

_She was talking about the Founders of Hogwarts. Luna knew who their relatives were, and she believed they had important knowledge. And she was right. That knowledge turned out to be crucial. _

_After that, the three of them worked day and night to rebuild the room. Ron and Hermione helped out occasionally as well, but Luna, Draco, and Harry had the most drive. Luna, too, felt somewhat abandoned after Ginny and Neville had become a couple. And as usual, she was made fun of. _

_So in some ways, during that year, a new group of three came to exist within Hogwarts, and the relentless first-years called them "The Civil Rights Act of the Colonies in the 1950s." For short, C.R.A.C., or Crack. It was a play on the color of Harry's hair in contrast with Draco's and Luna's. The term had been coined by a Hufflepuff muggle-born first year, who saw their friendship as an act of admirable charity on part of Harry towards the other two, who were, technically speaking, outcasts. He was a huge Harry Potter fan. Quite like you, Reader._

_A week before the party, the Room was finally finished. It'd taken blood, illicit trading with cloaked strangers in the Hog's Head, sweat, jewels stolen from Bellatrix's vault in Gringotts [the Ministry was still deciding on what exactly to do with all her wealth], tears, and the body parts of various animals in the Forbidden Forest. The events of the year could have filled a book, had someone taken the time to record them._

_Luna, Harry, and Draco sat exhausted in the empty Ravenclaw Common Room, staring into the fire. _

_Abruptly, Luna stood up. "I'm going to bed," she said. "You two can hang around if you'd like. Use a condom." She ruffled Harry's hair. _

_Harry blushed, caught off guard by that last comment. He and Draco quickly looked at each other, then at Luna, who walked calmly away to her dormitory._

"_What?" asked Harry, his face still pink. Draco, too, looked embarrassed._

"_She was only joking," said Draco. _

_But Luna never joked. And the two refused to look at each other, quickly exiting the common room to go to bed. Because, you see, both of them were hiding something from each other._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Tonight, Harry's eyes focused and unfocused on the blonde blob beside him.

"Do you know what Ron said the other day?" he said suddenly.

"What?" asked Draco, whose eyes were closed.

"He said-" Harry snickered. "He said he thinks you have a crush on Hermione. He was laughing a lot."

Malfoy started laughing too. "That's ri- ridiculous. Riddikulus. RRRRidikulus. I'd never- not with _her. _She never made me those pancakes she promised me. But she probably- she probably would have poisoned them anyways."Malfoy and Hermione fought a lot, about as much as Percy had with Fr- George. To Harry, it seemed like a sibling rivalry. But perhaps it wasn't.

"You- you sure? You can tell me if you like, it's okay," said Harry, grinning. Although, thinking about it now, it _would_ be complicated if Ron's suspicions were true.

"Nah," said Malfoy, still giggling. "Nope."

"I have to tell you something," said Harry quietly, shifting slightly to face his friend.

Draco glanced at him, and said nothing for a long time. "Me too, I think," he replied, his voice doubtful and coarse.

"You first," said Harry.

"No, you," said Draco, his eyes wide, his easy smile slipping.

"I- I think I'm in love with-" Harry stopped, as if he was regretting it.

"With who?" Draco urged, sitting up straighter.

"-With-"

Draco stared.

"-Luna."

Draco was dumbstruck. He'd almost thought-

"What should I do?" asked Harry, closing his eyes. "She's completely clueless."

The other boy swallowed. "I think-"

But Harry wasn't done. "She's clueless," he repeated. "But it's- that's what I love about her. She's so good. A good person. And smart, too. And unpredictable. You never know what's going on in her mind. Sometimes she'll say something like 'You're so brave, Harry,' and from anyone else it's just, it's whatever, but from her it feels so genuine but I can't tell, because she's so nice like that to everyone, and I wish she liked me too but I'll never know unless- unless she just says it."

Harry couldn't see it, but Draco's heartbreak was evident on his expression.

"And have you seen her hair, Malfoy?" At this point, Harry reached up and tugged on Draco's hair. "It's like yours… but longer… and silkier…"

"I think," repeated Draco, gathering himself. "What you should do is drink some more." And with that, he took a bottle and chugged it. Harry's eyes followed the bottle, and after a moment, he did the same, and soon lay delirious on the floor.

Draco had never felt more embarrassed in his life. He stared at the boy who lay drunk on the floor beside him and cursed his luck.

Stupid glasses. Stupid clueless green eyes. Stupid messy black hair that you just felt like playing with for hours on end.

Draco wasn't gay. He'd convinced himself he wasn't gay about three months ago, when he'd woken up from a… rather explicit dream featuring the Boy Who Lived- his new best friend. And the whole 'falling in love with your best friend' thing was so muggle-romantic-comedy. He knew because he'd watched about five that same week.

But it'd happened to Ron and Hermione, it'd happened to Ginny and Neville, and it'd happened to Harry, too. Because the three of them had become best friends this year. And Harry was right. There was something irresistible about Luna.

But somehow it was Harry who'd been in Draco's dream, not Luna. Somehow it was Harry's casual touches that made Draco's face burn, not Luna's. Somehow it was all those nights he'd spent with those dumb green eyes that'd made him fall in love.

Harry was a good guy. He was such a good guy. If it hadn't been for Harry, Draco would have been dead, or alone, or without this second home, this Room of Requirement.

Draco had convinced himself he wasn't gay, and it'd all been fine until last week, when Luna had made that comment, and Harry had seemed so flustered. It'd all been fine until Harry had said "I have to tell you something." Because within that instant, Draco had lost all progress, and was ready to hear a confession, ready to tell him he loved him too, ready to kiss-

He buried his face in his hands. Embarrassment surged through him.

"I'm so drunk," said Harry suddenly from beside him. He lifted the bottle in his hand to his face and tried to take another sip, but the liquid splashed all over his face. He wiped it off with his sleeve, mumbling incoherent words under his breath.

It was almost like an invitation.

Draco had no idea what was going on in his mind at the moment. He, too, was beginning to see things, like the hearts and spiraled up from Harry's eyes. He stared at them and tried to catch them, but they slipped through his fingers. And Harry, who caught the wiggled fingers in his blurred line of vision, reached up to catch them, and his fist closed over Draco's index finger.

Love.

It was the alcohol. It raised Draco's wand hand to his face and elicited a small transfiguration spell from his lips. His blonde hair grew to his shoulders.

He leaned over Harry, his finger still trapped in Harry's grip.

"Luna, is that you? Where's Mal-Malfoy?" muttered Harry.

Draco said nothing. He was hardly breathing.

Harry pushed himself upward. "Luna, I've got t-to tell you somefig. I'm- Iloveyou," he mumbled. He took Draco by the shoulders. "You're- you're wonderful. And beautiful."

Draco had thrown all common sense out the ever-changing door. He took Harry's face in his hands and kissed him.

Harry's hands dropped from Draco's shoulders and he sat there, stunned, eyes open, not moving. Draco slowly moved away, his heart pounding. He was just about to stand up, run out of the room, trip over something probably in the hall, then crash into his dormitory, where he'd spend the rest of his night crying, and laughing, and slapping himself-

But then Harry inched forward and closed his eyes, his eyelashes fluttering against Draco's temple. He rested his warm fingers gently on Draco's neck, and Draco leaned in. And then Harry's caught Draco in a kiss so slow and so sweet that Draco almost actually fainted. It might've been from shock. Or alcohol.

They kissed. Draco was lost in Harry's scent- the scent of dust and damp grass and charcoal-

After a long while Harry's hands inched down, fiddled with the boy's belt. Draco let him, his body hot, and slipped his hands into Harry's shirt, feeling his hardened back. But then, as Harry undid the last button of his jeans, Draco remembered, and panicked.

Quickly he pulled away, scrambling up, and Harry was left on the floor, hair messy, dumbfounded.

"Wait, I'm sorry-" he said, standing up. But by the time he was balanced with both feet on the ground, Draco was long gone. And Harry fell to the floor again, touching a finger to his lips. It was a long time before he fell asleep.


End file.
